STANFORD NOTEBOOK / With linebacker Okwo out, RB Jones switches sides

Published 4:00 am, Monday, August 21, 2006

The broken right thumb that will cause starting inside linebacker Michael Okwo to miss the season opener at Oregon has forced coach Walt Harris to make some adjustments.

Sophomore Pat Maynor took snaps with the first-team defense Sunday at Okwo's spot on the weak side, and Ray Jones spent his second day on defense, making a surprise switch from running back.

"We are trying to do the best we can with what we have," Harris said. "That's a big loss for us right now. He's probably our most talented defensive player and we don't have a lot of answers, so we are just going to have to make do with what we've got."

Jones, a reserve tailback who did not carry the ball last season, played safety in high school. He offered to play defense in hopes of increasing his playing time.

"I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm running out there with my head cut off," Jones said. "But it's a lot of fun flying around."

Harris hopes that Jones, who ran for 87 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman in 2004, can catch on quickly.

"We'll see," Harris said. "He was a good defensive player in high school. Some of it is instinctual. Our guys felt he had talent that way, so we're going to see what he's got."

Okwo, who injured his thumb in Wednesday's scrimmage and underwent successful surgery Friday, said he hopes to be back in time for the San Jose State game on Sept. 9. He was hampered by a high ankle sprain last year.

"It's a little bit of a setback but I've got to deal with it," Okwo said.

Scrimmage report: The offense finished Sunday's practice by doing crawls, a consequence of Saturday's lackluster performance in the team's second scrimmage of summer camp.

"Those were paybacks. We fell short of our goals. We weren't sharp, we weren't crisp. We fumbled on 3rd-and-1," Harris said. "Maybe we think we are better than we are."

The defense had four interceptions, a recovered fumble and collected five sacks.

Injury update: Center Tim Mattran, who returned from an injury last week, was out again this weekend. He walked off the field with a crutch, his injured lower leg wrapped. Alex Fletcher was taking snaps at center in his stead.